


Pit Stop

by birchlogz



Category: The SpongeBob Musical - Various/Anthony & Coulton/Jarrow
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Holidays, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Requited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21800560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birchlogz/pseuds/birchlogz
Summary: Bobby is having the worst work week of his life. Patrick is there to convince him to slow down and enjoy the holiday season.What Patrick doesn't know is how much he really means to his best friend.
Relationships: SpongeBob SquarePants/Patrick Star
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey! not a very avid writer so sorry if it takes a bit, but i have some of chapter 2 done already as i post this. honestly i'm really bad at proofreading so i hope theres no issues... but anyways happy holidays :)

"Another 3 Krabby Patties for table 5. And make it snappy, people are getting restless," Edward barked behind him into the kitchen. Bobby just grinned wide and gave him a thumbs up, but when Edward turned back, the smile slipped down into an exhaused frown. It was the one of the first weeks of winter break for most fish, and buisness was booming. Bobby could practically hear the satisfied humming coming from his manager's office, but he didn't share the same sentiment about the time. Sure, he loves his job more than anything- but the sheer schools and schools of fish coming into the Krusty Krab was overwhelming.

The heater behind Bobby was working overtime to combat the snowy chills; until it finally sputtered to a halt and stopped working with a cough. He chuckled at nothing in particular and got back to work.

That night was restless as he dreaded the freezing temperatures, and Bobby was already up by the time his phone blared it's regular siren in the early morning. He waved goodbye to his flatmate and best friend (forever) Patrick on his way out of his apartment, opting to slide down the stair's rail in lieu of the elevator beside it. His white converse hit the tile at the bottom with a _slap_ , and he was off to work again on this crisp, cool Wednesday morning. On the way, he only tried to rub away the aching tiredness pulling at his eyelids a couple times, which was showing some serious restraint from how he usually acted when running on about... about zero total hours of sleep.

Even behind the grill again, the chill of the room was giving him bad shivers. It was just as busy as yesterday, and Bobby was starting to feel the effects of the frozen wasteland outside and sleep deprivation. His hands, normally nimble and quick with his beloved spatula, had come down with a serious case of _jamais vu_ , as Edward would say- it was like he had never held anything before in his life! He was constantly dropping buns, tomato slices, and even a whole patty at one point. By the end of the day, he was watching the clock tick down alongside his co-worker. Bobby just smiled and waved hurriedly when asked if something was wrong.

He dragged his feet up the stairs back to his apartment, stubborn enough to want to keep getting his excersise even when exhausted. Patrick was just heading out of his room as Bobby struggled with putting the key in the lock, and tapped him on the shoulder when he spotted his friend.

"Ah- AH!" Bobby exclaimed with a jump, not noticing the other man's presence until that moment.

"Whoa, hey! It's just me, buddy. I just wanted to ask if you-" Bobby turned to Patrick as he spoke, which made his train of thought stop in its tracks.

"Everything alright? Your dark circles are... Well, real dark." Bobby forced another wide, toothy smile onto his face.

"Of course! I just, uh... Got woken up last night. Late. Real late. Gary was meowing at something outside the window. I'll be fine, Pat. I'm just dandy," He rambled.

But Patrick wasn't buying it. He wasn't an expert in many things, but if there was one thing he did know, it was his best friend. Pat's eyes were filled with worry, and Bobby knew he wasn't going to get out of this without telling the truth.

"Come on. Y'know you can't work like this... I think you should take the day off tomorrow, buddy. You don't look too well."

"No! No way. It's just been a bit busy at work, you know how it gets. It'll calm down soon, and everything will be back to normal. And I'll be sure to go to bed extra early, just for you." The answer didn't seem to fully satisfy Patrick, but he let his friend go anyways with a quick hug and a goodnight.

The celing must've been extra interesting that night, because Bobby couldn't pry his eyes off of it. In his overtired state, it was even harder than the night before to get a wink of shut eye. He decided to get an even earlier start (or incredibly late one, depending on how you see 1am).

The next morning, he slipped on a yellow plaid shirt and a thick jacket. He looked mostly presentable when he left for work, but he made one fatal misstep by forgetting to tie his shoes. He'd arrived at the Krusty Krab dragging his feet on the wood floors, unaware anything was wrong. Families flocked in and out of the resturaunt, but two young women came and ordered two large colas. Carrying the tray over to one of the tables, he stepped on his own shoelace and sent the sodas flying, hitting one of then right in the face. Even the fish in the other seat got hit with some of the splash.

The three sat in stunned silence for a few dreadfully long seconds, Bobby kneeling on the floor where he fell, mouth agape and searching for an apology desperately.

"M-Miss, I-"

She only clenched her fists in anger and stormed off into the restroom, her friend chasing after her.

"Wait! M-Ma'am, I'm sorry!" He called out to them. He nearly went to go after them to apologise, bur decided it'd be better to just deal with what he could. Bobby grabbed a rag haphazardly left on an empty table and started wiping away the cola dripping down from the table onto the seat, his face flush with embarassment and shame.

Mr. Krabs seemed to have a sixth sense for missteps, as he burst out of his office suddenly, dragging the young man by the back of his shirt collar into his lair.

Edward glanced over at what had happened before putting in earbuds and opening a magazine he kept near him at all times in case he needed to ignore the manager's yelling.

Bobby trudged home at 12:30 in the afternoon, sent home by force. He had desperately begged to stay and help the woman clean up and Edward prepare food, but in his current state it was decided he was more of a burden than an asset.

He had all the blinds pulled down and had no idea what time it was when three knocks echoed through his apartment. Lying facedown, he merely mumbled something into his pillow. The person at the door hesitated for a second until it creaked open, and Patrick's voice filled the room.

"Bobby?.. You're home super early today. Are you good?" He let out another muffled groan before he felt the space next to him on the bed sink a bit. Patrick placed his hand onto Bobby's back, gently rubbing it in an attempt to comfort his friend. Bobby reached back around and held Patrick's hand in his own, and they sat in a comfortable silence for a while before either spoke up.

"So. Are you gonna take the day off, or what? Tomorrow's Friday- you might as well. You need it- you deserve it. I don't think I know anyone who needs a break more than you do, dude."

**"thanks"**

Patrick chuckled at the blunt response and laid down on the bed next to him.

"It'll be great. You really need to learn how to relax. Just let the master show you how to do it."

Bobby just sighed in response. His mind was racing still from earlier, the moment replaying in his mind over and over... He squeezed his eyes tight and let Patrick's presence preoccupy his mind.

The two ended up falling asleep cuddled up im a pretzel knot, swaddled in a thick blanket. Bobby was pressed up against Patrick's soft cotton shirt- neither had bothered to change out of their day clothes. The cold couldn't penetrate the soft fleece of the quilt, and the two were comfortably warm against the snow piling up just outside.


	2. I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever seen a movie that was so horrible you needed to share it with everyone you know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't really read this for errors much but hopefully its not too bad!! i'll go back and check it tomorrow :) (12/17)  
> <3

The phone next to the two boys blared it's horn, and Bobby instinctively shot up, his ginger hair sticking out in a serious case of bedhead. He still felt exhaust pulling at his eyes, but having Patrick cuddling close was nice. Bobby blushed as his friend shifted a little, for some reason quite shy about the position they were in, their limbs tangled together.

Reluctantly, he pulled himself out of bed and grabbed his phone to stop the alarm, but he caught note of the time- it was already past 6:30, half an hour after he was supposed to get up. The alarm had already rung 3 times before then! Bobby stood up, but felt a hand grab him by his suspenders and yank him back onto the bed. 

"Man. You get up early... There's no way you're going to work, remember?" Patrick mumbled from behind him.

"Pat, I gotta! I-"

"You've never missed a work day before. I'm sure your boss is gonna understand if you take ONE day to rest. Especially when you need it as much as you do now."

Bobby kicked his legs anxiously and tapped his fingers on the bed. He couldn't think of anything to say, because Patrick was mostly right. He really didn't need a repeat of yesterday... And a long weekend didn't sound that bad. He layed down again hesitantly before bringing the phone to his ear. His anxiety soared again, he really had no idea what to say when Mr. Krabs picked up! Should he get right to the point? How much does he have to explain? Should he-

**Please leave a message after the beep. Beeeep.**

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh............... I... Hey Mr. Krabs!"

He glanced to Patrick and silently pleaded for assistance, who was glad to mouth a script to his friend from his infinite wisdom of taking days off.

"I am going to... Take the day off today. I will be back to work on Monday... Bye, have a good one." He hung up and nearly threw his phone back onto the table so he wouldn't have to think of it.

"Oh come on, you did great! That was nothing, you got it."

Bobby just groaned through his fingers. With the whole day AND weekend open for anything, it almost seemed like too much free time. He didn't know what to do with himself. He laid back down on the bed, his body still tense from anxiety. He lied there stiff as a board for a while before heard a gentle snore come from the beside him. _How does he go to bed that quick? I don't think I could ever do that!.._ He glanced at Patrick's face. He was pretty when he was asleep... The man's pink dyed hair was just as mussed up as Bobby's own, but it was pretty endearing. 

He took a deep breath before finally getting up and getting ready for the day. Bobby knew he was supposed to be resting, but it was too tempting to not make some breakfast for his guest. A simple omlette wouldn't be a big deal!

Patrick woke up an hour or so later to the bed shaking agressively. He peeled open his eyes to see Bobby jumping on the matress next to him.

"Gooo _oood_ morning~!"

Patrick chuckled a bit, but just rolled over so he was lying face down. Bobby dropped to his knees next to him, still bouncing a little. It wasn't really working to wake him up, but that didn't mean it wasn't fun.

"Come oonnnnnnn! Get up, you made me take the day off- so now you gotta entertain me!"

"Five more minutes..."

"Five more minutes and your food's gonna get cold," Bobby retorted with a smile.

"Why wasn't that the first thing you said!? I'm getting up, gimmie a sec."

Alright, maybe "A simple omlette" was a bit of an understatement. The table was layed out with all manner of breakfast foods- french toast, eggs every way you can imagine, hash browns- Patrick wasn't even sure where Bobby pulled some of the ingredients from.

"I thought you were gonna take it easy! I mean, not that I'm complaining. I usually just eat whatever I can get my hands on."

Bobby gave a dramatic, faux offended gasp as he said "Then we're going to have to do this more often!.. I think cooking relaxes me, though. Most of the time, at least," He trailed off a little, thinking about the stress of the previous week.

"But I'll make you the biggest, most delicious breakfast whenever you ask!"

Patrick gave a warm, genuine smile that made Bobby's heart flutter.

The two spent most of the day talking together, or cleaning up the dishes together (that DEFINITELY didn't end in a little water fight), or just sitting around and being content in the other's presence. It was only until the sun started to set that Bobby started to complain of boredom. The two were lying on the bed again in Bobby's room, Patrick just browsing his phone.

"I just don't know what to do! I always make plans for my weekend, but today's just been completely off the fly. I'm almost _too_ excited to hang out with you, I don't feel like going to sleep at all!"

"Alright, I think I know what to do," Patrick said. He got up, displacing the head that'd been resting on his stomach before scooping the smaller man up in his arms. Bobby squeaked as he suddenly rose, his face flushing a little. His embarassment suprised himself- Pat did stuff like this all the time. What was so different this time? His friend didn't seem to notice, so he just kept quiet and let himself be carried away. Patrick placed Bobby onto the couch and flopped down comfortably himself, the blanket that'd been dragged along being thrown across them.

"Hallmark movies."

Bobby giggled a little.

"Hallmark movies? Aren't those awful?"

"Oh, you have no idea. But if anyone's gonna enjoy them, it's you!"

"Are you insulting my taste in movies?" Bobby said with a sarcastic grin. Patrick returned it gleefully.

"Maybe a little. Still, trust me. This is the BEST part of the holidays."

"Fine, grab some popcorn and I'll find the channel."

Pat gave a double thumbs up and rose to go grab the snacks, leaving Bobby alone in the living room. He took a breath out, not realizing he'd been holding it.

What the hell was with him today? He felt so shy when next to Patrick, his mind a mess whenever he did something cute. Which was always... Bobby was snapped out of this thoughts when a bowl of popcorn was placed in his lap.

"Everything good? You were starin' off into space."

"Ah, of course! Everything's fine." He shook his head and put on on of his trademark smiles while turning the TV on. Patrick cozied up next to Bobby as they hopped right into whatever one was on. It was pretty absurd, some story about a woman falling in love with a mailmain, but she was also an elf? They laughted about it for a while, but Pat was starting to drift off, all cozied up on the couch.

By the end, Bobby's head was leaning in the crook of Pat's neck, but the other man was fast asleep. Bobby's eyes were fixated on the TV as the woman and the man locked gazes with each other. The lady was blushy and shy as they stood in the night snow together, and although Bobby hadn't ever seen it before, he spoke quietly in unison with her. 

_**"I love you."** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might release a mini-chapter of the dishes incident if anyone wants it, or if i'm not able to get out the next chapter in good time!  
> ps. i wonder if anyone knows what terrible christmas movie they watched (and yes, it's real!)


	3. Closet Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick and Spongebob's fun-filled sleepover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a special thank you to cordiallysent for letting me use her humanized names for the characters!  
> chapter name from the song "Closet Door" by the one and only Ethan Slater!

"Did'ja say somethin'?"

Bobby's face felt like it was somehow both drained of color and flushed bright red at the same time. He laughed a little bit to fill the silence as he thought of something to Pat.

"Aha, uh, the movie." He clears his throat a little. "So predictable. I knew what she was gonna say it before she said it!" _GREAT NEPTUNE'S TRIDENT, BOBBY. You couldnt've just said 'no'? Oh man, I hope he doesn't see your face right now. It's dark enough without the lights, right? I hope my hair looks ok. It's gonna be fine, just calm down- is he speaking to me right now?_

"-when the picnic part came on!" Bobby blinked and nodded feverishly in response. 

"Yeah, I know what you mean!" He did not know what Pat meant.

"Let's put on another- and hopefully I won't pass out this time," Patrick joked. "Ooh, I wanna watch Rudolph!"

"Wait, we should get into pajamas first!" Bobby basically dragged his friend out of his apartment despite the gentle protests.

"seeyouin10makesuretobringapillowBYE," he said in one breath, shutting the door as fast as possible. _Robert Porter, you are NOT making a fool of yourself today... I'm gonna get in my nicest jammies and have the BEST ACTUAL SLEEPOVER EVER. With Patrick!..._ He sighed dreamily and stood thinking about what they could do the next day. He snapped out of it as he herd the clock tick and hurried into his room to grab a festive green and red plaid shirt (with matching sweatpants, of course). He carefully combed his hair and brushed his teeth before grabbing some snacks he always kept in case of an emergency like this. A deck of cards wouldn't hurt either, right? And a board game. Scrabble... No, Monopoly! Wait, both. And maybe he'll light a scented candle. I mean, why not? And- Bobby ran to open the door as Patrick knocked loudly, blanket dragged in tow.

"Are you ready for the BEST NIGHT EVER? And tomorrow, I have something fun we can do, too!"

Bobby flapped his hands excitedly in response, grabbing and spreading out a fluffy blanket on the floor in front of the TV. "Let the sleepover BEGIN!"

9:00: Scrabble. Patrick was never amazing at playing for real, but he loved to play HIS version of the game. Play weirder and weirder words that don't exist and see how far you can get trying to convince the other player they're real. 

"G-... Gnorsh? Is that-..."

"Gnorsh [guh-norsh] (verb): To dance, all crazy like. Uh, yeah! That's it," Pat hid his smile behind the hand resting on his chin, the other holding his phone as he pretended to read off it.

"I guess you learn something new every day!" Bobby chuckled in response.

9:45: The Mermaidman and Barnacleboy Holiday Special! Bobby squeezed Patrick's hands with a gasp as Doctor Holiday wrapped up Mermaidman in his horrible licorice rope. Realizing what he did, he sheepishly withdrew and ran his fingers through his hair. Pat smiled, grabbing Bobby's hand again, intertwining their fingers as he looked back to the screen. 

10:15: Pillow Fight! Patrick tied his blanket around his neck, mimicing Doctor Holiday's lab coat. 

"I'll get you this time, Mermaidman! I'll defeat you and eat all the Christmas Cookies I want!"

"You're going to eat something alright- JUSTICE!"

Bobby jumped up onto the couch with a battle cry, raising the pillow over his head! He swung down and-

"ROBERT! Would you QUIT MAKING THAT NOISE! Some of us are trying to get our BEAUTY SLEEP?!" The muffled pleads for silence came from the apartment next to Bobby's, and the two knew who it was immidiately. They giggled as they pressed their face to the wall to respond.

"Sorry, Edward! We'll keep it down." Bobby kissed the wall and gave it a few loving pats before climbing back up onto the couch. The battle resumed in whisper-shouts.

10:40: The evil has been defeated!

'Doctor Holiday' had been confined to a pillow fort jail cell against the couch, fiddling aimlessly with his blanket coat and pouting. Mermaidman playfully gloated over him.

"I told you I'd make you taste justice.

"Speaking of taste, can you bring a bag of MnM's to my cell? I'm craving something sweet."

"Of course, Pat! I mean- Doctor Holiday." He winked and crawled into the pillow fort next to his friend with the candy. Patrick reached his arm around Bobby's shoulder, and rested his head on his friend. 

"That was fun, but I'm beat."

It was Bobby's turn to fidget, trying to look anywhere except at Pat.

"Y-Yeah! Of course."

"Everything ok?"

"Just tired too." In his head, Bobby tried to blame his heart's rapid pace on the jumping and playing, but he knew that wasn't the case. 

"You sure? You've been zoning out all day. Got the Christmas Jitters? Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, after all."

Bobby nearly choked on the MnM. 

"IT IS!? Oh barnacles, I completely forgot! I must've been so busy at work, I didn't even realize... I haven't decorated at all!"

"I noticed you were seriously underdecorated this year! Which is why tomorrow, we're gonna go all out. This place is gonna be covered from tip to toe in holiday cheer!"

"Isn't it toe to tip?"

"This place is gonna be toe to tip from tip to toe in holiday cheer! Er- You know!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops my hand slipped (inserts my own mermaid man and barnacle boy villian oc!!)

**Author's Note:**

> i tried to make their personalities a bit more human and patrick ended up being weirdly calm xd i promise its just this chapter, i have more exciting things for them to do together now that they have free time!


End file.
